Teachers' Motivational Strategies and Students' Academic Performance in Biology in Secondary Schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area

The study was carried out to examine the influence of teachers’ motivational strategies and student’s performance in Biology in Secondary Schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. In order to achieve this purpose, two research questions and corresponding hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The design for the study was descriptive survey research design. The population of the study consisted of 1072 SS2 Biology senior secondary two students (SS2) in the sixteen (16) public secondary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. The sample of the study consisted 160 Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) students which were drawn from four intact classes in two secondary schools in the study area. Simple random sampling technique will be employed to select 4 schools from the 16 schools in the study area and also in selecting of the samples for the study. Simple random sampling technique was used for the selection. The instrument used for data collection was Motivational Strategies Questionnaire (MSQ) and was developed by the researcher. Face and content validation were used for validating the instrument. A reliability coefficient of 0.89 was obtained for the instrument using Cronbach's alpha. Linear regression was used for answering the research questions, while regression analysis was used for testing the hypotheses at .05 level of significance. The findings showed that there is a significant influence of extrinsic motivation (rewards) on students’ performance in Biology; there is a significant influence of positive reinforcement strategies on students’ performance in Biology. It was therefore recommended, among others that Biology teachers should consistently use positive reinforcement strategies such as praise, encouragement, and constructive feedback during instruction. Recognizing students’ efforts and achievements will boost their confidence, sustain interest, and improve their academic performance.